Gbenga Komolafe
Gbenga Olu Komolafe is a Nigerian engineer, lawyer and petroleum and gas industry expert who served as the inaugural chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC from September 2021 to December 2025. He previously served at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in various capacities including as group general manager, Special Duties, group general manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division and executive director Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company. He is credited for formulating several strategic policies including electronic tracking of petroleum products distribution nationwide. Komolafe is a Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers and a member of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Background and education
Gbenga Komolafe was born in 1963 in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. He had his primary and secondary education in Ondo State before proceeding to University of Ilorin where he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1987. He earned master's degrees in industrial and labour relations in 1995 and industrial and production engineering in 1998 from the University of Ibadan before enrolling at the University of Benin where he earned a law degree in 2006. He attended Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2008. He attended International Petroleum Management Certificate Programme, Boston and International Gas Business Management Certificate Programme, Offshore Training Conference, Houston, Texas. Komolafe is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and a Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers and Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria.Career
Komolafe served in several policy making positions in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. From 2012 to 2014, he served as executive director Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company and was general manager operations Petroleum Equalization Fund where he introduced policies including electronic tracking of petroleum products for effective distribution to inner parts of the country. He was general manager, Operations of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, group general manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division and group general manager, Special Duties at the NNPC.NUPRC
After the Petroleum Industry Act came into force in 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Komolafe as the inaugural chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC and was confirmed by the Senate in September same year. He is a vocal advocate of Smart Petroleum Governance and has introduced several policies focused on advancing use of technology in the operation of Nigerian upstream oil and gas sector. He modernized oil licensing process and introduced policies that promote environmental sustainability including reduction of gas flaring to 7.16% scaling up average oil production per day and improved security to prevent large scale oil theft at production and export terminals. His security initiatives reduced oil theft and increased Nigeria’s crude oil production from below 1 million barrel per day to over 1.6 million barrels per day. He introduced Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Measurement Regulations and the Advanced Cargo Declaration Regulation which improved monitoring and accountability.In December 2025, Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency – Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Commission in its annual Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard report for 2025 ranked NUPRC 1st out of 357 ministries, departments and agencies with a score of 91.83. The ICPC annual report is designed to promote ethical conduct, strengthen oversight and provide a benchmark for public sector accountability. Following the report, Energy Accountability and Governance Network – an oil sector accountability watchdog issued a statement describing the ICPC’s report as an acknowledgement of Komolafe “leadership and commitment to transparency”.
On 17 December 2025, Komolafe resigned as the head of NUPRC after four years in the position.